Loss of Faith, Reclaiming Hope
by megami580
Summary: Betrayed for the last time Harry loses faith in the ones he once loved, discovering truths and coming to terms with the lies in his life. Will the Light lose Harry to death and darkness, is there any hope left?
1. Death of a Hero?

**Fic Title:** Loss of Faith, Reclaiming Hope

**Disclaim...Er:** Harry Potter and its characters belong to JK Rowling and not me. I own nothing, except Sera and the plot...

**Genre:** Slash, Romance, bit of angst

**Pairings:** V(TM)/HP, DM/OC

**Warnings: **AU, OOC, OC. This will is slash eventually if you don't like don't read, you have been warned.

**Summary: **Betrayed for the last time Harry loses faith in the ones he once loved, discovering truths and coming to terms with the lies in his life. Will the Light lose Harry to death and darkness, is there any hope left?

Chapter 1: Death of a Hero?

Sera was floating through the darkness again; she could feel his pain and her soul cried out for him. _Soon_, she thought, _I will be able to go to him soon they've betrayed him for the last time_. She felt the delicate tendrils of the new prophecy unfurl around her. It was pulling her towards his dimension.

"It is time...Harry Potter..." she whispered, unfurling her wings about her she was gone in a flash of bright light.

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The summer was half over and Harry Potter was looking forward to the fact that he would be returning to Hogwarts for his sixth year, if only to get away from his relatives. So far this had been the worst summer yet with his relatives. The beatings had been getting continually worse; he feared he might not see the end of it. The worst of it was his magic had somehow been bound and it made him furious, because he knew who had done it. Ever since the fiasco at the DoM he knew things weren't what they seemed with Dumbledore, he didn't seem all that sorry about his godfather dying. Broken out of his thoughts Harry heard his uncle bellowing for him, sighing wearily he resignedly went downstairs. Unfortunately this would be the final beating he'd receive.

He was thrown back into his room where he lay crumpled in a heap on the floor. Harry struggled to get onto his bed but could only collapse on the floor beaten and broken, this latest beating, the result of some imagined slight against his portly whale of a cousin. With pain radiating through his entire body, he tried futilely to control his magic enough to heal his body. Tears leaked out of his eyes, it was of no use the damage done to his body was too much. Harry stared at the ceiling of his room, _so this is how it ends for The-Bloody -Boy-Who-Lived_ he thought bitterly. He was angry at his friends they said they couldn't write to him over the summer. Too dangerous they claimed, too busy with work for the Order. They left him out of everything and it hurt that they didn't confide in him anymore.

He coughed weakly choking on some blood, turning his head he let it trickle out the corner of his mouth. _Lived, ha_ he thought _more like he merely existed he hadn't been allowed a _normal_ childhood, no, he was the bane of his Aunt's family, a complete madman, and the result of some damn prophecy. Stupid muggles, it's not like he had a choice in the matter,_ he thought bitterly, _no that honor went to the damn old coot that persistently manipulated his life. _Thinking back to the last day of school, he knew something happened, he just didn't know what and the more he thought about it the more it hurt to try and remember.

_**Flashback**_

"You can't mean to send me back to that house, to those...those _Muggles!_" Harry shouted furiously. They had been arguing about this for the last half hour.

"Now calm down now, my dear boy," said Headmaster Dumbledore. Albus's eyes twinkling, sighing to himself he had to get everything back under his control. "Harry, you know that to keep you safe, you have to go back to the Dursley's so you have the blood protection. We've talked about this before and I will not have you question me it's for your own good." He smiled serenely at the boy.

Harry glared at the Headmaster. "With all due _respect_, Headmaster, don't patronize me, I'm not a child you can talk down to." Harry replied icily. He had a bad feeling in his gut that something was off; he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He saw the smile fade from the Headmaster's face, his lips moving silently and then fading blackness.

_**End of Flashback**_

He couldn't recall what happened after that; upon waking up he was already 'home' at the Dursley's. It was this so called protection that was going to be the death of him. Harry laughed mockingly at the irony of it all. He lay in his bed as the last glimmers of faith he had once had in the ones he called friends and family died. He continued the struggle to breathe, but his lungs were slowly filling with blood. With clarity his last thought before giving in to the darkness _I guess the prophecy was wrong, so much for saving the world, not that I had any choice.._

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_**Slytherin Manor**_

Voldemort sank into his throne clutching his head in agony; he had just dismissed his Death Eaters when the pain had hit him. _What the hell is that Potter brat up to?_ He thought. The tension built up in his head until there was an inaudible snap and then nothing.

"WHAT!" He cried out loud. "It can't be Potter's...dead" he whispered incredulously. Holding his still aching head he called for his familiar Nagini.

_**:You called for me Tom: **_She stared into his eyes questioningly.

_**:Go and fetch Severus, make sure he brings his potions bag with him: **_He hissed at her, pain filling out his voice. He sat on his throne unable to move, silently cursing Potter.

Nagini looked intently at her Master, reading his mood she hastily left for the potions lab in the manor. To her relief the Potions Master was in the lab, she slithered up to him catching his attention. Severus looked up from the cauldron he was stirring startled to see his Master's familiar in front of him.

_**:Severus:**_ She hissed_** :Tom: **_While none of the Death Eaters could speak Parseltongue, they all knew what their own name sounded like as well as their Lord's. Nagini went over to his potions bag and curled around it knowing he'd understand.

He quickly composed himself all the while thoughts racing though his head. "Is he still in the throne room?" He asked. Nagini nodded her head. Severus picked up his bag, cast a quick stasis spell on the cauldron he was working on and left to go to his Master as swiftly as possible. As he entered the throne room he was shocked to see his Lord unconscious on the floor. This was not what he was expecting; he quickly composed himself and set to work to revive the Dark Lord, he'd figure out what happened later.

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AN: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. This is my first attempt at writing so please let me know if anything needs improving. Thanks, until next time.


	2. Life after Dying

**Fic Title:** Loss of Faith, Reclaiming Hope

**Disclaim...Er:** Harry Potter and its characters belong to JK Rowling and not me. I own nothing, except Sera and the plot...

**Genre:** Slash, Romance, bit of angst

**Pairings: **V(TM)/HP, DM/OC

**Warnings:** AU, OOC, OC.There will be slash eventually if you don't like don't read, you have been warned; also HBP did not happen in this story.

**Summary: **Betrayed for the last time Harry loses faith in the ones he once loved, discovering truths and coming to terms with the lies in his life. Will the Light lose Harry to death and darkness, is there any hope left, and what's this about a new prophecy?

Chapter 2: Life after Dying

_**Slytherin Manor**_

Severus hastily cast a diagnostic spell on the unconscious Dark Lord. Going through his potion's bag he pulled out an energy draught and a headache potion. He then shook the prone body of his lord gently, ruby eyes blinked at him confusedly before snapping to attention. Handing him the two potions, Tom drank them both down rapidly, grimacing at the taste. Severus backed away to kneel in front of the throne unsure of what to do next wanting to question what had happened, but knew it wasn't his place to ask. Tom looked at his loyal follower, knowing he could have been killed by him while he was unconscious. So he decided to answer the questioning look he saw in Snape's eyes.

"I suppose your wandering what just happened," he drawled pinching the bridge of his nose. Snape nodded his head not saying anything. "I'm not sure myself, except that the connection between Potter and myself is gone. That can only mean one thing, Potter is dead." Voldemort's eyes were blazing; he wanted to know what had happened. Snape was in absolute shock for a moment before sneering.

"The brat must have done something quite foolish, his annoying 'Gryffindorish tendencies'. Rushing off the be the little attention seeking hero," he spat acidly.

"Regardless Severus, you must go and find out from either the old bastard, or the Order what has happened, this changes everything." Voldemort hissed.

"Of course my Lord," Snape replied bowing silently before apparating away with a pop.

Lord Voldemort sat on his throne musing, if the boy was indeed dead then all his plans would be put in motion much faster than he had anticipated. With nothing to stand in his way the Light was going to lose his laughter echoing in the room wickedly.

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_**No. 4 Privet Dr.**_

In a blinding flash of light Sera appeared in the room of Harry Potter. Horrified she looked down at the dying young man, but deep down she knew to that it had to happen. Clearing a space on the floor she pulled a single white feather from her wing, dipping it into the pool of blood on the floor she began to draw the ritualistic healing circle of their kind. Upon finishing she levitated Harry's body to the center of the circle and began to chant, setting up a series of wards to protect them as well as a time suspension spell. The characters and circle began to glow softly with white light, for this spell to work Harry had to die, if only for a moment. When he gasped his last breath the runes lifted off the floor and flared to life around the young man and began to surround his body.

The blood on the floor coalesced into vapor and began seeping back into Harry's body. Sera watched fascinated as his body rapidly healed itself; lacerations, cuts, and scratches closed themselves up without even a trace of scarring. Bruises shrunk and vanished, she winced though, as she heard bones popping back into place before knitting back together. Harry's poor malnourished body began to fill out and muscles formed on his skinny frame, not only that he grew taller stopping just over six feet (185cm) and his skin had a golden tan. Finally after all these years Harry looked like a healthy young man.

Upon the spell's completion the light concentrated into a ball above his body before shooting into his chest. Harry's body arched off the floor as the spark of life returned him to the living. Grabbing his chest and gulping for air he settled weakly back onto the floor. He looked around his room in confusion finally eyeing the young woman standing by the door. He looked at her with warily, not quite sure what to make of her. _She can't be an immediate danger to me, seeing as how I'm completely defenseless at the moment_ he thought.

"Who are you?" He asked cautiously, shifting into a sitting position, his gaze never leaving the stranger in his room. "What's going on? I thought I was dead..." his voice trailed off. Harry wasn't sure why he was taking things so calmly, but all he could feel was a sense of peace radiating off the girl standing before him. Sera looked at him with humor in her eyes. Snapping her fingers she setup a series of spells to prevent eavesdropping. Walking over to him she held out her hand to help him up.

"Hmm, explanations on who I am is a going to be a very long story, so we might as well get you comfortable before I begin." She had a small mysterious smile on her face. Leading Harry over to the bed, while letting him get situated she conjured two cups of tea. Handing a cup over to Harry she took a sip while sorting out what to tell him first.

"I'm gonna start, please try no to interrupt till I'm done, I'll answer any and all your questions when I'm finished." She told him calmly, she knew it would take longer if she let him examine everything while telling the story. He nodded to her and she continued.

"Right first thing, my name is Seraphim Celestine Dominae, but you can call me Sera. To put things bluntly, you did indeed just died," she watched his face went through disbelief, shock and then anger. "What I've done for you was an ancient healing spell passed down through our line. Yes, I said our line, because you see Harry Potter, you are my twin brother, and everything you knew about your life up until now has been a complete lie." Sera stated sadly.

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_**Hogwarts**_

Severus disapparated outside the wards of Hogwart's, so many questions running through his head what could have possibly happened that Potter would have wound up dead. He knew there had been no plans to attack him, and after finding the Dark Lord in the state he'd been in banished any doubts he might have had. Walking swiftly across the grounds Snape made his way up to the castle to the Headmaster's office. _Well if it is true that Potter is dead, then it makes the fact that I was never truly on the Light side that much easier_, he smirked inwardly, _better not get my hopes up though_. Going through his mind of all the possible scenarios the Potter could have been up to, fortunately arriving at the gargoyle breaking him out of thoughts.

"Acid Pops," he growled to the stone statue. Climbing up the stairs to the door he knocked impatiently on the door.

"Come in," he heard Albus say muffled through the door. "Ah Severus, what can I do for you this evening?" Albus was surprised to see his Potions Master back in the castle so soon. He hid his surprise and smiled placidly at Snape "Lemon drop," he offered.

"No thanks, Albus," Snape grimaced in distaste at the muggle sweet offered to him. "As you know I just got back from a DE meeting," seeing the Headmaster nod his head, he continued. "There were rumors that there might have been an unapproved attack on _Potter_, but seeing as how your still here, I can only assume that they're untrue," he sneered. He didn't know what the Headmaster was playing at, but he had seen the brief look of surprise on the old man's face.

"Now, now my dear boy, everything is in order the wards are still in place." Albus checked and rechecked the wards on the Dursley house the moment Snape had entered into the room. He was satisfied that everything was undisturbed. "Unless there is anything else Severus, I have an appointment at the Ministry of Magic." He made his eyes twinkle.

"No, nothing else sir," he muttered getting up and leaving. As he left he glanced back and was startled to see the malicious smile on the Headmaster's face. _What the hell is going on_ he thought he knew something was wrong. It was obvious that the Headmaster knew nothing of the fact that Potter was likely dead. Making up his mind Snape hurried back out pass the castle wards and apparated to the Dursley's determined to put an end to this mystery.

In his office Albus Dumbledore sat in his chair plotting, lost in his thoughts he hadn't realized that Snape had seen his cruel face as he had left. He knew even with all his planning he was losing control of Potter, but it wouldn't matter, because one way or another Potter would die. Either by Voldemort, or if it came to it he himself would see to it. No one would have believed the corruption of the world's greatest Light wizard, but it had been growing ever since the defeat of Grindelwald. With the destruction of that Dark wizard the backlash of evil energy had almost killed him. Unknown to him at the time a seed of evil had been planted in his heart and mind. Now it was the unseen force pushing Albus down the path he was walking today.

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**AN:** So ends another chapter. Sorry for the cliffie, I'll update ASAP. Please let me know if there is anything that needs improving. Thanks until next time.


	3. And the truth will set you free

**Fic Title:** Loss of Faith, Reclaiming Hope

**Disclaim...Er:** Harry Potter and its characters belong to JK Rowling and not me. I own nothing, except Sera and the plot...

**Genre:** Slash, Romance, bit of angst

**Pairings: **V(TM)/HP, DM/OC

**Warnings:** AU, OOC, OC.There will be slash eventually if you don't like don't read, you have been warned; also HBP did not happen in this story.

**Summary: **Betrayed for the last time Harry loses faith in the ones he once loved, discovering truths and coming to terms with the lies in his life. Will the Light lose Harry to death and darkness, is there any hope left, and what's this about a new prophecy?

**Chapter 3: And the truth will set you free...**

Severus stood outside the Dursley house, fortunately for him Mundungus Fletcher was on duty, or more correctly had been on duty. Without any witnesses he was about to enter the house when a bright flash of light was seen coming out of the room Harry occupied. Entering the house he, cast a quick locating spell, confirming that the Dursley's were asleep. With a flick of his wand he whispered a sleeping charm to make sure that they didn't wake up. Severus walked upstairs, coming upon Harry's room to his door he could only stare at all the locks that ran down its length.

"Alohomora," he growled. To his aggravation the door remained locked. Going through several more unlocking charms, the door to Snape's frustration remained locked. He scowled at the door, he had no choice but to wait to see what had happened, it would be unacceptable to return without any answers. Leaning against the wall, he settled in waiting impatiently for the door to open.

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Harry gaped at Sera, his mind kept going over the last sentence that she had said. _How is it that I have a sister, a twin at that, _he thought with disbelief. Sera waited patiently for Harry to get a grip on the news she had just given him. She could see the questions and confusion in his eyes, but she knew he'd wait until she was done to ask any questions. Taking another sip of his tea, Harry nodded his head to let her know he was ready for her to continue.

"I can't imagine what you're feeling right now," she sighed. "This all started when James and Lily Potter were attacked by the Dark Lord Voldemort. You know most of what had happened after the supposed defeat of Voldemort. What you didn't know was that shortly after leaving 'Harry' here with the Dursley's, he became ill and by the time _Albus Dumbledore_ arrived there wasn't anything that was able to save him, medically that is." She spat the name Albus with so much animosity that Harry looked up startled at Sera. Harry reached out and gently squeezed her hand, breaking Sera out of her darkening thoughts. She gave him a poignant smile, she had to finish telling the story, no matter how much it hurt.

"Unfortunately the death of Harry Potter couldn't happen, it would've ruined all of the old man's schemes. W...we don't know how exactly it was done, only that some of the darkest magic known to any of the realms, was used. He managed to pull you, big brother, from the divine realm and bind you to the infant body of Harry Potter. Now if everything had gone the way he had planned you'd have never found out about your divine heritage. But as they say fate is a fickle mistress and due to his own actions, he put into motion a new prophesy. Which is why I'm here now," she finished explaining.

Harry had never felt so lost in his life. _Wait, I'm not even **Harry Potter**, I don't even know who I am_ he thought. The anxiety that had been building up since Sera had started talking had reached its peak and now he felt like he was drowning.

"Who am I," he managed to choke out.

"You were born Aeryn Casimir Dominae, whatever has happened doesn't change who you are on the inside. You are my brother and no matter what I will always love you." She told him firmly.

The conviction in Sera's words seemed to break the last of his defenses. Harry fell sobbing into Sera's arms, the teacup forgotten in his lap crashed onto the floor. He knew something had been wrong in his life, but he never would have thought this would be the case. He just lay there in his sister's warm embrace, taking comfort in her solid presence. Before long he managed to stop crying, but with the extensive healing and the mental fatigue, he felt himself falling asleep.

"Its okay brother," Sera looked down at Harry, she knew he was fighting to stay awake. "Go ahead and sleep, I'm not going anywhere. There is a time stasis spell up, so you can go ahead and rest. We'll talk more when you've rested." She moved off the bed so he could lie down.

"Thanks," he murmured. "Please stay, I...," he grabbed her hand before she could turn away. He was asleep before his head reached the pillow, never finishing his sentence.

Sera watched him as he slept, his brow creased in worry even as he slept. She reached out and stroked his head, carding her fingers through his hair. Harry sighed in his sleep and finally settled down. She brushed the hair off his forehead and then gasped, the lightning bolt scar was completely gone. _So the original prophesy is truly broken,_ she mused, _I wonder what the future holds for us now._ Yawning widely, she lay down next to Harry, the night had been hard on her also and soon she was fast asleep too.

Severus was fuming as he paced in the hallway, it had been hours since he'd arrived. He had tried everything to get into the room, but to no avail, he was still locked out. He even tried to leave the blasted house only to be barred from that also. After a careful probing, much to his dismay, he found the time stasis spell. _Well that explains why the old coot wasn't alarmed_ he rationalized. Of course that didn't help Severus's situation any, so conjuring a chair he sat down and glared at the door and the secrets that were held within.

He was warm, Harry was disoriented, and still half asleep he burrowed into the warmth and comfort that surrounded him. He awoke slowly in stages, the aches and pains he was accustomed to for so long, were absent. Fumbling for his glasses he looked around the room only to be confronted by blurriness, ripping them back off he realized that he didn't need them to see anymore. Taking everything in with his vastly improved vision he was startled by the movement on the bed next to him. He looked at the sleeping form next to him; he couldn't believe he had a sister.

He had always wanted a sibling, but he didn't want to get his hopes up only to feel the loss and betrayal that always happened in the end. He studied her features, even though he was in the body of Harry Potter, there were still enough similarities that people would still mistake them for family. She had long black hair, but hers was silky looking, falling in soft waves and had the same golden tan as him. Light green eyes blinked open and stared back at Harry.

"So, do I pass inspection," Sera asked cheekily grinning. She sat and stretched working the kinks out of her neck. "Are you ready to hear the rest now; I know it's a lot to accept. I know you have no reason to trust me yet, but please let me finish before you make any decisions." She looked at Harry trying to gage his mood.

Now that he had rested he was less unwilling to except the change of events that had taken place in the last twenty-four hours. Harry had his suspicions about the old man for a while now, but he had no idea the perfidies went this far. He began to tremble with rage_, how dare the meddling old fool do this to me_ he thought angrily. Calming himself down he needed all the information in order to make up his mind.

"Your right, I don't fully trust you yet, but I can tell you haven't lied to me." Harry smiled sheepishly. "You said something about a prophesy last night, can you tell me," he questioned.

"Its good that you can sense that, part of our heritage is that you can't readily lie to us, but I'll get to that in a moment." She commented, conjuring a scroll she handed it over to Harry. She began to recite the words of the Prophesy as he read along.

**_"The downtrodden Savior of Light will be betrayed one too many times, broken, but not alone He will then choose his own destiny to either return to his world, continue in the Light; or fall into Darkness. Working with others he can lead the world to either Peace or Destruction..." _**

"I have a choice," he blurted out. Harry stared incredulously at Sera, his mind going over the words of the Prophesy. He had the chance to walk away from it all, but did he really want that. "What would happen if I chose the first choice?" He asked unsure of what to do. Could he turn his back on everything here, not everyone had hurt him, could he in good conscious condemn them to that kind of life if the Darkness won. In the same sense though, the Light wasn't infallible and the government was quite corrupt, would the world be any better if the Light won.

"The future is never definite either side may win now, but whatever happens it wouldn't affect our realm. Good or bad though the balance will never be restored unless the Wizarding world wishes it." She explained.

"No matter what, I refuse to follow Dumbledore, not after knowing what he's done to me. What I don't understand is why you're just now coming to me and telling me all this? Why not sooner, why did I have to live this lie?" Harry asked indignantly.

"Its not that we didn't want to, we _couldn't_ it was a part of the spell that was cast. I could only reach you now that the prophesy had been invoked and the binding spell was broken. We've been watching you; it broke our hearts that you had to go through everything that you did." There were tears in her eyes, she had watched him over the years and it torn her apart. "Don't think for a minute that I didn't wish to take your place to save you from all the hurt." She sobbed into her hands.

Harry was taken aback at her reaction, no one had ever cared for him that strongly and it called out to his heart. He pulled his sister into a hug, offering comfort to them both.

"It doesn't matter, I'm just glad that you're here now, that's what counts," and he was actually happy, even if it was bittersweet. "So, what are we exactly," he wondered.

"Well...we're half celestial beings, not really angels, but more along the lines the Asian celestial maidens, and the other half is Incubus. If you remember my wings one was black and the other was white, it's because I was born in perfect balance between the Light and Dark. That brings us to our parents, mother is of course a celestial maiden, and father is the King of all Demons." Sera told him matter-of-factly. "So that makes me a princess, and you a prince," she smirked.

Harry was gaping like a fish, the facial expression becoming familiar. Not knowing quite where to turn at the moment, his body however informed him that he should use the loo.

"I...uh...don't know what to say right now, but I do need to use the loo, could you...ummm...," he stammered motioning at the door.

Sera nodded and with a wave of her hand the door unlocked and opened. Harry walked out into the hallway only to come face to face with a sleeping Snape.

"Bloody hell! What in Merlin are you doing here?" Yelled Harry completely surprised to see his Potions Professor sitting in his hallway.

"POTTER," yelled Snape waking up instantly. All he could do was stare at the young man in front of him, it looked like Potter, only not. "What have you done you foolish brat," he hissed.

"I don't have time for this," Harry complained and ran off to the loo.

"What's going on," Sera asked stepping out into the hallway. "Oh, I thought I felt someone else here," she looked at Snape; they stood watching each other not saying anything.

Snape was getting impatient he didn't know what was going on. He wanted answers, but Potter had run off and he had no idea who this young woman was. He studied her if he were to guess she looked like Potter's sister, but that couldn't be right Potter was an only child.

"Who are you," he sneered.

"That's for me to know and you to find out only if Harry wants you to know," she replied coolly. Sera walked back into the room and sat down on the bed. She didn't like Snape, but only for the reasons that he caused so much misery for her brother. She crossed her arms and glared at the man while she waited for Harry to get back.

Harry slammed the door to the bathroom, _what the hell was Snape doing here_ he thought, _was he checking up for Dumbles or for the Dark Lord?_ Flushing the toilet he went to wash his hands and did a double take at the mirror. He had changed; he no longer looked completely like James and Lily Potter. He still had his vibrant emerald green eyes, but Sera had green eyes too. His hair was no longer a horrible mess, but silky looking with soft blue-black curls. His skin was the same golden tan and he was definitely taller. He brushed the hair off his forehead and was stunned to see the lighting bolt shaped scar was gone, completely gone. He smiled faintly at his reflection, good or bad he was able to choose his destiny. Preparing for the argument that was to come, Harry resigned himself and walked back to his room.

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**AN:** Sorry it took so long, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to all the people who reviewed, it really is appreciated! Anyway until next time.


	4. Where do we go from here?

**Fic Title:** Loss of Faith, Reclaiming Hope

**Disclaim...Er:** Harry Potter and its characters belong to JK Rowling and not me. I own nothing, except Sera and the plot

**Genre:** Slash, Romance, bit of angst

**Pairings: **V(TM)/HP, DM/OC

**Warnings:** AU, OOC, OC.There will be slash eventually if you don't like don't read, you have been warned; also HBP did not happen in this story.

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait things came up and my baby got sick, and then I had his first birthday to plan. So I'm back to writing and hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon after this. Thanks again to those of you that have reviewed, it really makes my day! Until next time.

**Chapter 4: Where do we go from here?**

Harry walked back into his room to see Snape and his sister glaring daggers at each other. Upon seeing Harry, Snape immediately rounded on him.

"I don't know what is going on here Potter, but I want answers and I want them now." Snape's expression was murderous.

"Why should I tell you anything _Snape, _its not like you've done anything to make me want to confide in you." He sneered back at the Potions Master. Harry was almost at the breaking point and he didn't need the snarky man ordering him about.

"Regardless of what _you_ want you will give me answers the Headmaster needs to know what's going on." Snape lied.

"NO," Harry all but snarled. There was no way that he was going to reveal that he knew that he had found out about Dumbledore's machinations. He still was not sure exactly where Snape stood in this war, and he wasn't about to let him know till he did.

Snape was taken aback by the vehemence in Potter's reply. He schooled his face into indifference.

"Why?" He asked.

He didn't miss the quick glance Potter gave the girl sitting on the bed. Damn he had completely forgotten about her in his anger.

"Are you sure Harry?" Sera asked.

"Yes," he replied wearily.

Sera's wings burst from her back and she calmly pulled a black feather and proceeded to trace runes in the air. When she was done the runes faded and the room pulsed with power once before settling back to normal. Snape watch with consternation as the girl performed the incantation. He could feel the hum of power through the room. Sera nodded at her brother letting him know that it was done.

"Before I tell you anything, I want to know where your loyalties lie." Watching Snape, he saw the anger in the man's eyes at the demand. Before he could say anything he cut the man off. "You think that I don't have the right to ask this of you," he waved him off, "I assure you I might not be able to perform magic, but don't think that she is under the same restrictions as I am." Harry pointed to his sister in the bed; he almost chuckled at the malicious glint in her eyes that was directed at Snape.

"Fine," he ground out, "I am and have always been loyal to Lord Voldemort." Snape gasped, his eyes widened in shock. "What the hell," he sputtered. He had meant to lie and say Dumbledore. He looked warily at the boy thinking that his days as a spy were over. To his surprise, Potter was just looking at him with a thoughtful look on his face. _Well this is completely not what I thought would happen_ he thought to himself.

Harry wasn't completely shocked by Snape's answer; it was if it was confirming what he had always thought. If he had heard this months ago he would have thrown a complete fit about Snape being on the Dark side. With his growing distrust of the old man and now with everything that had happened in the last couple of days he just couldn't muster any feeling for the deception.

"What, Potter no righteous anger at being betrayed, no lecture. My, my if I had known that this would have shut you up; I would have tried this long ago." Snape spoke his voice full of sarcasm. He crossed his arms not quite sure what was going on as he watched the boy's eyes narrow at the barb meant to anger him, but not rising to the challenge.

"Who am I to tell you what to do," he smirked. "For someone who wants answers you're not being...hmmm...how should I say, very accommodating, but then I wouldn't expect anything less of you. But from my reactions you should be able to see where I don't stand." Harry said slyly.

"Well, if that's the case then I can assume you don't believe in the old man anymore." Snape was floored by the events that had occurred so far, but he was getting nowhere fast. "Oh very well, I promise to listen to anything you wish to tell me, a truce if you will. Otherwise we'll never get anything accomplished going back and forth as we are," he sighed.

Sera watched the entire exchange silently, whatever her brother chose to do she'd support, but that didn't mean she had to like the man. She could see the exhaustion and weariness show in his entire body. She was worried that he was pushing himself too hard after the extensive healing she had done.

"Look I can explain most of it if you'd like, but you have to at least relax some," he nodded at her. She led him to the bed where he lay down but didn't fully settle down. She pulled his head into her lap and started to stroke his hair.

"First off anything that is said since I cast that spell you won't be able to speak to anyone but Harry and I, and nothing, and I _mean nothing_ can subvert this spell unless Harry or I will it." She looked meaningfully at Snape who nodded in return. "It will be far easier to show you than explain everything, since you don't have a pensieve on you here." She pulled another feather and cast a spell.

Snape was pulled into the memory. He stared in horror at the broken and dying form of Harry Potter. Fascination as the events moved forward to the appearance of the girl and then the healing and revelations that came. With growing anger he heard of what had become of the infant Potter and the dark magic that had been performed on him. In an instant all the illusions he had for Potter were shattered and left him completely shaken. Unsure of what next he grew apprehensive at the new prophecy that was revealed. With new understanding he emerged from the memories. Feeling contrite he gazed the sleeping form of Harry, no Aeryn.

"So now you know the truth." She said softly.

"Seems like I owe the boy an apology," he muttered. "So what happens now? There seems to be even more questions that need to be answered than before."

"That's up to him, but for now he needs to sleep."

Snape conjured up a chair and settled in to wait once again. They were standing at a crossroads and he couldn't leave without being able to take back any information. Especially if it meant that it could be a turning point for the Dark side.

_Soft moonlight filtered through the trees, the lush moss under Harry's feet sent up an earthy aroma. He was dreaming and for the first time in months he felt at peace. He continued to stroll among the trees humming tunelessly all the while contemplating everything that he had learned. Shaken out of his thoughts he realized he was no longer alone in his dream. Curiously he stared the figure beckoning him forward to walk with them. Unsure of how he knew that he could trust them, somehow he knew that he could._

_"So, you are truly at a crossroads young Aeryn, what have you in mind that you plan to do?" The voice asked._

_Harry still unused to his real name was startled but didn't show it. He had an idea of how he wanted to live his life, but wasn't too sure of how to go about it quite yet._

_"Not exactly, I know now that I can't blindly follow Dumbledore, not with what I now know. I want revenge, no matter how petty that may seem I'm only human...err well at least I think I am sort of." Harry said with a shrug. He struggled to find the right words "In the same sense though I don't have the knowledge to follow the Dark side, I do not agree with Voldemort's ideals as they stand now. I don't know what he's after other than my death. I think for now I want to learn, train, and gather more knowledge before I commit myself to a set path. Nobody would respect me currently, I'm just a teenager."_

_"Very astute, you seek knowledge, and power before making a commitment. I'm sure we will have more of these talks in the future. For now let me leave you with this advice, listen with an open mind consider the opinions of others, and learn that outward appearances are just that, there maybe more there than you originally thought." With that the figure faded away into the night._

The problem with time stasis spells was that if you forgot to set some type of alarm, you could sleep years away. Fortunately for Harry neither Sera nor Snape slept, both talking quietly to each other till finally they sat in silence.

Snape couldn't sleep even with the uneasy truce they had, he had too much on his mind to be able to sleep. While he had known the Headmaster wasn't quite the figure of Light that he portrayed, he had no idea it went this far. Over the years he'd been able to come to his own conclusions about the old man. When he had been sent to spy on the Light side he could've taken the opportunity and changed his allegiances. His faith in the Dark Lord had been wavering there in the end, but by then he had been destroyed by the infant Potter and it was assumed that he was on the side of the Light and he hadn't corrected them.

Looking back on his life as a Death Eater loyal to the Dark Lord he hadn't completely agreed with his ideals, but never disagreed enough to want to change sides. Towards the end though the Dark Lord had become more and more fanatical, at some point Voldemort had stop listening to input of his followers and became paranoid and depraved. Since his rebirth he seemed more like his old self, but still obsessed with Potter and the Prophecy. A prophecy that was no longer valid.

_What the hell was Albus thinking putting the boy here_ he thought? Even Potter had known the danger he was in by being here, it was as if the manipulative old man had wanted the boy to die. Snape stiffened in his chair, that was it he _had_ wanted Potter to die and his death to be an accident. If Harry died by any other hand other than Voldemort the prophecy would be broken. Dumbledore must have know that Voldemort hadn't been truly been vanquished that night at Godric's Hollow and needed Harry alive to be able to bring back the Dark Lord.

Snape rubbed his temples trying to ward off the headache building up. He glanced over at Potter only to realize the boy was staring at him intently.

Harry sighed he'd only been awake for a couple of minutes reflecting on the dream he just had. He took the chance to study Snape unnoticed, he seemed to be deep in thought. As if sensing Harry staring at him, black eyes locked with green, both trying to gauge the mood of the other. A soft cough broke both of them out of their thoughts.

"It seems that now that everyone here is up to speed, we need to decide what to do next," Sera said. A thoughtful expression flitted across Harry's face before he spoke.

"Hmm, I guess I should get used to my real name, so if you both don't mind calling me Aeryn when we are alone." He said while stretching, the joints in his back popping, he turned to look at Snape. "Besides, it's not like the Potter name was all that great to live up to. You never did let me apologize for what they did to you," his eyes narrowed, "they were nothing but bullies," he spat.

Snape stared at Aeryn, he had been absolutely furious that the boy had seen _that_ particular memory. The fact that he could empathize with him blew Snape away, not that it showed.

"If anyone here needs forgiveness here, it is I, I let the past cloud my judgment. For that I'm sorry," Snape replied.

"Well, if we can both put it in the past and start over I'm game if you are sir?" Aeryn held out his hand to Snape, "Hello, I'm Aeryn it's nice to meet you."

"Severus Snape, but you can call me Severus," he reached out and shook the young man's hand. "Just out of curiosity, you seem to be pretty excepting of me, why?"

"You never treated me anything other then a normal person, granted you are biased to your Slytherins. I never wanted the fame and glory, as you put it." Aeryn said smiling slightly. "Knowing what I do now I regret not taking Draco's hand in friendship all those years ago," he looked remorseful. "Ah well..." he trailed off.

"What, you're not planning on telling Weasley and Granger about all of this," Snape was shocked. He wasn't prepared for the cold fury that showed in the young man's face.

"You didn't think it was just the old man that betrayed me now do you?" his voice dripped with scorn. "Anything I say to them will get back to our _'dear old Headmaster'_ his two little spies fucked up and I caught them, not that they know. It takes blood traitor to a whole new level with Weasley," Aeryn sneered.

"What do you plan to do now?" Snape asked changing the subject.

"Funny, I just had a dream asking the same thing; pretty much the gist of it was that I decided I need to learn more and train. I want to be respected for who I am, not what I may have done in the past." He said seriously.

"May I make a suggestion?" Sera startled both men, laughing she continued. "Guess you both forgot that I was here, anyway whatever you plan to do will have to wait until our birthday. Whatever power you will inherit from our parents will manifest then," she explained.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we weren't here when that happens, I mean won't someone notice?"

"I can mask everything that happens; right now your magical signature is still tied into the wards of this house. If what I think will happen when you inherit, it will change it enough that we will be able to leave without anyone knowing you are gone. Besides if we leave I'll need your help in making a simulacrum, a type of golem if you will." She explained. Aeryn nodded and looked over at Snape.

"Can you manage to stay until then, its only two more days till the 31st, I understand if you have to leave."

"I don't see it as a problem in staying seeing as it is that I can't divulge any secrets with the charm that is on me. If I can though I would like to send some word to the Dark Lord, I can do that without giving up any information." As an afterthought he added. "He thinks you dead by the way."

"Hmmm, I guess he does," Aeryn said rubbing his forehead where the famous scar used to be. "Severus do you think that you could arrange a meeting between Voldemort and me, I don't want to commit to anything I just want to see if we can come to some type of truce or not, for now."

"Here why don't you help me write the letter and we'll see what comes of it." Severus conjured parchment and a quill and the two of them set about writing the letter to the Dark Lord. Finishing quickly Aeryn walked over to Hedwig and tied the letter off on her leg.

"Here girl, I need you to take this to Lord Voldemort, wait for a reply please." She hooted softly at him and nibbled his fingers before taking off.

While Sera took down the stasis spell Aeryn stared out the window unsure of the things to come, only knowing now at least the choices were his to make this time. Smiling he turned around and the three of them settled down to wait.


	5. Birthday Revelations

**Fic Title:** Loss of Faith, Reclaiming Hope

**Disclaim...Er:** Harry Potter and its characters belong to JK Rowling and not me. I own nothing, except Sera.

**Genre:** Slash, Romance, bit of angst

**Pairings: **V(TM)/HP, DM/OC

**Warnings:** AU, OOC, OC.There will be slash eventually if you don't like don't read, you have been warned; also HBP non-compliant.

**Chapter 5: Birthday Revelations**

Voldemort sat in his study his head still throbbing lightly from the backlash of curse bond breaking. It had been a couple of hours since he had sent Severus to find out what had happened. A gentle tapping at the window shook him from his thoughts, glancing up he saw the snowy owl trying to get in the room. With a casual wave of his hand the window opened and the owl flew in and landed on the desk in front of him. He blinked as the owl stuck its leg at him; he cautiously took the letter.

Hedwig stared at the man in front of her. She cocked her head to the side and studied him; for some reason she liked him better than the old man that smelled like nasty lemons. With a last glance she launched herself to the perch in the corner of the room and started to preen her feathers.

The letter was forgotten momentarily as he watched the antics of the owl in front of him. He had gotten the strange feeling that she was sizing him up and somehow for whatever reasons, accepted him. Shaking his head at the crazy animal he picked up the letter and studied it before casting the spells to check for anything that might be unseemly in the letter. Proving harmless he opened the letter.

_To My Lord,_

_After checking in with the Bumbling fool and to my surprise the old man is unaware of anything that may have happened to Potter. I went to where the boy resides over the summer and it is to my pleasure to tell you that Harry Potter is undeniably dead. It seems that Potter's relatives were a little too brutal and wound up beating him within an inch of his life. Due to complications he later died from the blood loss and such. Revolting muggles, as much as I detested Potter, even he did not deserve a death such as this. _

_In the midst of all of this it seems that I have stumbled on another player that may be of use to you. He requests to meet you my Lord, if you will, to discuss an alliance of sorts. There is a power in him that I sense that would be advantageous to our side; because of this said person I am unable to divulge anything else at the time and will be delayed for a couple of days. The owl will wait for your reply._

_Yours Faithfully,_

_SS_

He stared at the letter that simply confirmed what he had already felt, Potter was dead. After all these years his adversary was gone, funny how it seemed so anti-climactic in retrospect. Done in by those that were supposed to take care of him, how unfitting. The idea of a possible ally was intriguing; they had to have some talent to be able to catch the interest of Severus. He quickly penned off a reply. He walked over to the snowy owl and attached the letter to her leg and sent her in her way. Things seemed to looking up and Voldemort was looking forward in meeting this possible ally.

The next two days went by pleasantly, Aeryn and Severus found that they did indeed enjoy each other's company. Severus was able to gain an understanding of the life Harry Potter had lived and was truly remorseful for his harsh treatment of the boy.

"So you're telling me you had no idea of the Wizarding World until Hagrid came for you?"

"None at all, I wasn't allowed any of my books or my so called _freaky_ belongings until the train ride. That's why I was so ignorant in not only your class, but the rest of them as well." Aeryn said ruefully. "You know I have only admitted this to the old man, but I was originally supposed to be in Slytherin." He watched as the older man's eyes widen in surprise.

"You mean to tell me that you were supposed to be in my House. Then why in Merlin's name are you in Gryffindor? Then at least then you'd have one redeeming quality," his surprise turned into a smirk

"Its simple really, due to my ignorance added to meeting Draco Malfoy, turned me against the House itself. I know better now that Dark doesn't necessarily equal Evil," he shrugged.

Severus was interrupted in making a response when Hedwig flew into the room and perched onto Aeryn's arm. He took the letter thanking his owl; she affectionately nibbled his finger before going back to her perch. Aeryn looked at the letter dubiously and handed it over to Severus.

"So that was a fast response, I'm sure good ole Tom was pleased with news in the letter we sent him," Aeryn said dryly.

Not commenting Severus broke the seal to the letter and skimmed through its contents. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly at a comment the Dark Lord had made. Finishing the letter he looked up to see green eyes watching him with interest.

"I take it the letter was enlightening."

"Indeed it was. Here just read it for yourself." Severus handed the letter over to the boy.

_Severus,_

_I am of two minds about the first part of your letter, for so long I have wanted the end of the boy. His demise seems so anticlimactic and horrible at the same time. This goes to show that Albus isn't omnipotent as he likes to think he is. It seems like such a waste, I wonder if I should have tried harder in luring him over to our side. Ah well._

_To the second part do what you can to woo them over, do try to bring them on the First of August when I call for you._

_Lord Voldemort_

Aeryn blinked and stared at the letter, a cough broke him out his daze.

"This is the Dark Lord right, I mean I never expected him to compose a letter quite like this. I mean not that I really think about it, but it seems like he almost cares in some twisted way." Aeryn looked confused, it's not like everyday your view of a person is drastically changed. Perhaps it was just more lies the old man had told him.

"He is different he seems a little mellow since his rebirth, of course his brain may be addled from the snapping of the curse-bond."

Aeryn just gaped at the man; he closed his mouth quickly when Severus raised an eyebrow at him. So he did what anyone would do, he changed the subject.

"So Sev I know we declared a truce and all, but I had no idea you liked me enough to woo me," he said coquettishly.

Snape's face turned red and he sputtered before realizing the boy was only teasing him for earlier.

"Trust me, you are hardly my type." He said with a slight sneer, but there was no bite to it and there was amusement in his eyes.

"Oh no, now my heart is broken," he sank down on the bed and burst out in laughter.

"Brat," he muttered.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Sera said from the doorway. Both men shook their head as she continued in the room. "I need to talk to you about what may happen tomorrow; you will most likely come into your angelic and demon abilities. Among them are wings I won't lie to you, but it will be very painful the first time they emerge. To make it easier you should leave off wearing a shirt to bed tonight. The rest will have to be assessed when it's all over. The second thing is as the first born son you were in line for the throne, but unfortunately there are rules. No one of human blood may rule the Divine Realm. I'm truly sorry brother."

"You have nothing to be sorry about this whole mess isn't your fault. Besides I wouldn't know the first thing about ruling an entire realm. That would have been something I would have been raised up as if I hadn't been taken, right." Aeryn was a little upset, not because he wouldn't be king, but because he never got the chance to be with his family.

"Yes, as it is our younger brother is the Crown Prince we'll get in to family history later," she commented.

After going over a few other things, Sera with the help of Snape warded the bedroom to prevent any magical leakage that might alert anyone. The three of them headed down to the kitchen and prepared a light dinner. It was fortunate for them that the Dursley's were still under the sleeping charm and so they remained undisturbed. With dinner finished Sera sent her brother off to bed telling him that they had a long day ahead of them and he would need his sleep.

Pain was what Aeryn woke to the next morning excruciating pain. It burned through his body radiating from his back and chest outward. It was as if whatever impurities in his body and blood were being eradicated. The flesh on his back started to split and tear where his wings were trying to burst through, blood slowly seeped out and ran down his back. Biting his lip to keep from screaming, he managed to fall unceremoniously to the floor. He lay on the floor convulsing; unable to keep silent any longer he let a scream of pain. Snape and his sister had come in the room shortly after the transformation process started. Sera was talking him through the process telling him that it was almost over he barely registered her voice through the red haze of pain.

His back arched one final time and his wings burst through scattering blood throughout the room. At the same time his fingers grew into claws and a golden brown and inky black mist surrounded him, shortly followed by a greenish blue mist. All three mists swirled around him, they began glow and they grew thicker until completely obscured the figure within. Their light grew to the point where both Sera and Snape had to shield their eyes. In a blinding flash the misty glow merged into Aeryn's body. He slumped to the floor, his magical core reweaving itself to integrate the new abilities. As he lay there, Sera quickly spelled him clean of blood while Snape administered a healing, and energy potion to the exhausted boy.

Aeryn lay there on the floor as the potions worked on his body. When he felt he had enough energy he shakily climbed back up to the bed, he collapsed there as he examined his clawed fingers.

"You didn't tell me about these," he wiggled his fingers at Sera.

"That was something that I hadn't anticipated, it seems that your demon blood is stronger than your angelic blood. You should check out your wings they're absolutely stunning." She conjured up a large mirror and held it up to him.

Aeryn scooted to the edge of the bed and stared at his wings in the mirror, they were gorgeous. Clumsily he shook them out he figured they were about two and a half meters long (about 8¼ft). The room was too small to be able to spread them to their full wingspan which was five meters (16½ft). His wings were ebony, but the surprising thing was that the ebony gradually blended into silver so the last few rows of feathers on each wing were pure luminescent silver. His hair had also grown with the transformation; it fell in soft waves down his back.

"Do the colors mean anything?" He pulled at a silver feather it detached easily. Upon closer inspection the feather was indeed metal. After experimenting with it he realized he could, with a thought make it as soft or as hard as he willed it. In fact any feather that had even a trace of silver in it he could change the density in them depending on how much silver was in them, the ebony feathers however, remained the same.

"You managed to figure out the metal properties of your wings, which make them an excellent weapon if you need both offense and defense. The ebony color reflects your power for males, the darker your wings are the deeper your reservoir of magic will be." She explained. "Were you able to see any of the colors of the mist that engulfed you?"

Aeryn blinked at her trying to recall the colors he had seen.

"I think there was a golden brown, black and greenish blue mist."

"Good I'll start with the golden brown, it relates to Terramancy, you have control over earth. Its because of it you are able to change the density of the silver in your feathers. Next the black, you now have access to Chaos Magic you'll be able to shape reality to an extent using sigils, seals, and runes. As you learn and grow stronger you'll be able to do it with will alone. Finally the greenish blue or celadon(1), now this one is actually two abilities. First one is Hydromancy, and it seems that your stronger in this than the Terramancy, if that's so then you might be able to Wavewalk. Basically traveling through water, like teleportation. The second is the art of Reiki, the ability to use your own energy to heal. It seems that is tied into your earth ability, you can utilize the energy of the earth instead of your own." She didn't go into too much more detail about his new abilities saying that they would get more in depth with them when they started training.

"So, I guess we should get started on making the simulacrum, what is it that I need to do?" Aeryn got up from the bed carefully as to not jar his still sore body. He finally noticed that Severus had set up a cauldron on his desk and was busy stirring.

"I guess I should have figured that we would need some type of potion for this," he walked over to Snape and peered into the cauldron. The thick liquid was bubbling gently and was light beige.

"Yes and it's a good thing that we don't have to rely on your potion skills, otherwise it would be pointless." Snape sneered, but his words didn't have their usual malice.

"If my skills are lacking then maybe you should say something to my professor," Aeryn grinned up at Snape.

Snape hummed uncommittedly he knew that he hadn't been decent towards the boy in the past, not that he was going to admit it out loud. Sighing inwardly he returned his attention to the potion, pulling out a knife he handed it to Aeryn.

"I need you to add ten drops of blood to this as I stir in a figure eight pattern." He gripped the rod lightly as he waited.

Aeryn deftly cut the palm of his hand and squeezed ten drops into the cauldron. The beige potion changed to a deep sapphire color with the last drop. He went to bandage his hand only to find that the wound was already healing. Startled he glanced over at Sera to see if she noticed. She just grinned at him, so he shrugged it off for the moment.

"I also require three hairs with the root still attached, go ahead and drop them in when you have them," Snape instructed.

Carefully plucking the hair he deposited them in and watched as they melted into the potion with a hiss. The simmering liquid turned dark amber and the smoke it was emitting was curling into perfect spirals. Snape extinguished the flame and set the cauldron to cool.

"The potion needs to cool for seven minutes, so you can help me over here." Sera pulled him over the bed. On the bed there was a large lump of clay that she was forming into a vague shape of a man. "I need you to pull one of your silver feathers and focus your magic on it, while concentrating on the old image of you." She explained to him to concentrate on his core so that he could imbue a limited amount of magic into the object.

He pulled the necessary feather, holding in the palm of his hands he closed his eyes and mentally reached for his magic. He willed a tendril to the feather, all the while keeping the image of Harry Potter in his mind. Opening his eyes he saw the feather was glowing softly. By the time he finished the clay figure was done also, it looked like a store mannequin.

"Go ahead and lay the feather on the chest, and then you need to slowly pour the potion in the mouth. Finally when you're done you need to touch your hand to the feather and say _Infigo_." She finished the instructions and moved off to the side of the room.

Aeryn accepted the goblet from Snape and opened the mouth and poured the potion in, the potion seeped into the figure. Finishing he set the goblet down and touched his hand to the feather.

"Infigo," he intoned.

The feather glowed brightly and then sank into the clay figure. The whole body began to glow, hair sprouted out of the head and the faceless features gradually morphed into Harry. The body shrunk a bit and chest started to move as the simulacrum began to breath. There on the bed lay a perfect copy of the old Harry, right down to the familiar lighting bolt scar. Eyes opened and Harry sat up gazing at the room's occupants.

"Do you know your objectives Harry?" Sera asked the simulacrum.

"Yes, you need me to stay here as cover so that Aeryn can leave without raising any suspicions." He nodded his head towards Aeryn reaching for the glassed that were held out for him.

"Excellent, is there anything you need explaining," she asked as he put the glasses on.

"No, I have retained every memory right up to my making." He cocked his head to the side and touched his chest and closed his eyes. Smiling he reopened his eyes and smirked at the group. "Seems that there's more latent energy in the feather you imbued me with, I shall last a lot longer before you need to recharge me."

"What?" Sera exclaimed startled. "Just how long do you think that is?"

"Hmmm, if I don't have to do any magic and barring any accidents then I'll last about three months. Everyday spell castings and a few minor injuries maybe about a month and a half, all out battles and anything close to fatal and it'll be less than a month before I start to shut down." He shrugged, sharing a look with Aeryn.

"Don't think too much about it sis this sorta thing is always happening to me, at least this time it's a good thing." Aeryn was starting wear down, the day had been exhausting and all he wanted to do was eat and then sleep.

Sera narrowed her gaze at her brother she noticed the fatigue there and then realized that they hadn't eaten all day. Summoning the tray of food that had been left warming she handed plates of food to both Aeryn and Severus, before tucking in herself.

It didn't take too long for the group to finish eating; banishing the dishes they went ahead and got ready to turn for the night. Snape went ahead downstairs to sleep on the couch. Harry not needing to sleep slipped quietly to the kitchen to read.

Aeryn finally managing to retract his wings and claws flopped down on his bed, thinking about tomorrow and the plans they needed to finalize.

"Sleep Aeryn, we'll work everything out in the morning." She kissed his forehead and then settled into the conjured bed across from him. It didn't take too long for both of them to fall asleep.

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AN: Sorry this took so long to get updated, hope you enjoyed another chapter.

(1) Celadon is a pale sea-green color

_Infigo_: is Latin for imprint

The concepts of Terramancy and Hydromancy came from here: http//www. lyrantalpress. com / almanac/ tos. asp


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